Prayer for Christian Unity
As part of their course of studies in PS520 Pastoral Ministry in an Ecumenical and Interfaith
Context, taught by Rev. Robert F. Leavitt, S.S., the fourth year seminarians are preparing a
prayer service for Christian Unity based on the theme "We Will All Be Changed by the Victory
of Our Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor. 15:51-58).
The service will take place on Wednesday, February 15, 7:00PM, in the seminary chapel, with
Rev. Andrew Foster Connor of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore preaching.
All are welcome, and please commit yourself to work and prayer for the unity of all Christians.
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Seminarians March for Life
The community of St. Mary's Seminary and University was fully represented at the various
activities associated with the Right to Life anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court
decision, January 22, 1973, organized by Mr. Dane Connelly, a first-year theologian of the
Diocese of Syracuse and chair of the seminary Right to Life subcommittee.
On Sunday evening, January 22, a group of seminarians joined Cardinal Daniel DiNardo,
the chair of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops Pro-Life Committee and an
estimated 18,000 others in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception for a Vigil Mass.
On Monday morning other seminarians and faculty departed shortly before 6 AM on a
chartered bus, using the travel time for prayer and reflection. They joined 15,000
other young people for a morning Youth Rally for Life at Washington's Verizon Center
(another 10,000 participated in a simultaneous rally at the DC Armory), beginning at
8 AM with a contemporary music rally, opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
and the praying of the Rosary before a 10 AM Eucharistic celebration presided by
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Those in seminary formation or in
discernment for priestly life and ministry or religious life were particularly highlighted
for prayer. The community then traveled to the Washington Monument, the gathering spot for
approximately 100,000 marchers. The final destination, the United States Supreme Court
building, was the sight of the seminary community gathered in prayer for an end to abortion
in our land and the protection of the right to life of all people. The seminary community
re-gathered for a pizza dinner in the Donnelly Lounge that evening.
Congratulations!
Our heartfelt prayers and best wishes go to Cardinal-Designate Edwin F. O'Brien,
Pro-Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in
Jerusalem, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Chancellor
of St. Mary's Seminary and University, upon being named to the College of Cardinals
by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
The College of Cardinals has the duty of aiding the Successor of St. Peter in his
ministry of confirming his brothers and sisters in the faith, and of being the
foundation and principle of unity and communion in the Church. The College of
Cardinals also has the duty of electing the Successor of St. Peter, and governing
the Church in the interregnum.
President-Rector Rev. Thomas R. Hurst, S.S., plans on representing the seminary
at the consistory to be held in Rome on February 18.
Merry Christmas from St. Mary's
The seminary community celebrated the traditional Festival of Lessons and Carols
on December 6 under the musical direction of Mr. Paul Binko, Director of Music.
The gifts gathered for the Gift of the Magi, a giving-tree program, were blessed
and taken for distribution. Seminarians, faculty members, staff, and Ecumenical
Institute students donated 186 gifts distributed to an agency serving homeless
families; an after-school safe haven for poor children; a tuition-free
middle-school academy; a Missionaries of Charity hospice; and Afghani children.
On December 9 the seminary community celebrated its Christmas. During the
Eucharist President-Rector Rev. Thomas Hurst, S.S., reminded the community to be
attentive not only to the great Advent figures like the prophet Isaiah and John
the Baptist, but also to the more humble figures we regularly meet, symbolized
by St. Juan Diego.
With their semester examinations completed, seminarians returned home to their
dioceses and families. Pre- and First Theologians will return for their preached
class retreats in the first week of January.
A Blessed Christmas and joyful New Year’s to all!
Organ Rededication
On Monday, November 21, St. Mary's celebrated the Sulpician Feast of the Presentation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple, which is also the patronal feast of the
seminary chapel. During the liturgy Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, Apostolic Administrator
of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the
Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, blessed the newly restored organ, together
with seminary Rector Rev. Thomas R. Hurst, S.S., and Sulpician Provincial Very Rev.
Thomas R. Ulshafer, S.S.
This is the first restoration of the historic organ since its installation by
Casavant Frères of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, in 1954. Beginning last Spring, Casavant
Frères disassembled the more than 2000 separate pipes and 2500 separate other
mechanisms, shipping them to Canada for individual restoration. The reassembly
began this Fall, together with the addition of new stops and features, all under
the direction of Paul Binko, seminary Director of Music. The restoration was
funded through the generous support of the Jenkins Family in establishing the
original endowment for the St. Charles College Chapel in Catonsville and the
Seminary music program. The organ will be prominently featured in the 2011
Annual Report, and a rededicatory concert is being planned for Fall, 2012.
Following the liturgy, the seminary community presented a gift of thanksgiving
to Archbishop O'Brien for his generous service to the seminary community as
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor of the Ecclesiastical Faculty,
and, in the Sulpician tradition, first superior of the seminary.
Candidacy
On Thursday, November 17, 2011, thirteen seminarians—Angel Marrero and Hamilton Okeke
of the Archdiocese of Baltimore; Francis Kim and Kevin Mohan of the Diocese of Camden;
Christopher Lubecke of the Archdiocese of Louisville; Juan Gaviria and Ebaristo Pineda
of the Diocese of Metuchen; Andres Baquero and Kamil Wierzbicki of the Diocese of Paterson;
and Jorge Bedoya, Elvio Esteban, Augusto Gamalo, and Juan Rojas of the Diocese of Trenton —
were admitted into Candidacy by the Most Reverend Edwin F. O’Brien, Pro-Grand Master
of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcherin Jerusalem, Apostolic
Administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Chancellor of St. Mary’s Seminary
and University.
Candidacy is a liturgical rite of admission requested by a seminarian of his own
Ordinary, which formally acknowledges and enrolls him as a candidate for Sacred Orders.
Congratulations!
Miroslav Volf Delivers Dunning Lecture
On Thursday, November 10, Dr. Miroslav Volf, Henry B. Wright Professor of
Theology at Yale University Divinity School and director of the Yale
Center for Faith and Culture, delivered a stimulating Dunning Lecture
at St. Mary's Seminary and University entitled "Do Muslims and Christians
Worship the Same God?" to an appreciative crowd of about 400 listeners.
The lecture was preceded by an afternoon seminar entitled "The Church
and the Global Common Good," in which Professor Volf served on a panel
with the leadership of Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox, and evangelical
world relief agencies, attended by approximately 75 area religious
leaders as well as Ecumenical Institute alums and students.
The Dunning Lecture is an endowed lectureship of St. Mary's Ecumenical
Institute of Theology designed to bring noteworthy and distinguished
theologians and religious scholars to Roland Park and the Baltimore-area public.
New Pastors' Program
From November 6-10, thirty new or soon-to-be-named pastors from the Congregation
of the Holy Cross and the dioceses of Dallas, Erie, Grand Rapids, Lafayette (IN),
Manchester, Pittsburgh, Richmond, and Wilmington gathered at St. Mary's Center
for Continuing Formation for a workshop addressing this transition in their
priestly life and ministry.
On the first full day, presentations focused on "The Pastor as Person" (self
assessment; facing challenges; canonical role of pastor; personal
emotional/physical health). On the second day focus shifted to "The Pastor
as Leader in Communion", with presentations on theology of communio; civil
law and administration; mergers and transitions; human resource management).
Day Three saw "The Pastor as Steward", focusing on council and staff;
financing and budgeting; physical plant; stewardship and fundraising.
The final day was a conference of spiritual encouragement on St. Peter
as a transformed shepherd.
The next New Pastors' workshop is scheduled for November, 2012,
at the Center for Continuing Formation. Other upcoming programs
include Pastoring in a Secular Age (April); a conversation with
recently ordained (April); Internet pornography (reserved for
Bishops and their vicars) in May; and Senior Priests' Retreat (May).
Check the Center's web page for
more information.
Alumni Days - 2011
On October 19-20, more than 120 alumni from St. Charles Seminary in Catonsville,
St. Mary's Seminary on Paca Street, and St. Mary's Seminary and University in
Roland Park gathered for the annual celebration of Alumni Days. The priestly
Golden Jubilarians of the Class of 1961 and the priestly Silver Jubilarians
of the Class of 1986 were particularly well represented, as were St. Mary's
1966, St. Charles 1961, and St. Charles 1951, who celebrated with two bishop alumni.
Festivities began on Wednesday with Evening Prayer followed by a cocktail
reception, after which the various classes gathered in area restaurants for
dinner. During the Evening Prayer homily President-Rector Rev. Thomas R.
Hurst, S.S. (SMS '73) reflected on the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as
the Seat of Wisdom for a pastor. Thursday's liturgy was celebrated by
Bishop William Houck, Bishop-Emeritus of Jackson, MS, (SMS '51), with
Rev. Msgr. Richard Bozzelli (SMS '93), Pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in
Glen Burnie, MD, and member of St. Mary's Board of Trustees, as homilist,
who spoke of Christ the Good Shepherd as the model for pastors
(read the homily).
During Thursday's banquet Fr. Hurst presented Rev. John Bowen, S.S. (SCC '44
and SMS '49) with the seminary's Jean Jacques Olier Distinguished Alumnus
Award. Fr. Bowen has had a long and distinguished priestly career, with
professional service as provincial archivist and historian. St. Mary's
is particularly grateful to Fr. Bowen for his tireless and decades-long
service in fostering alumni relations through his contributions to St.
Mary's Class Notes.
It's not too soon to begin planning for Alumni Days, 2012!
Michael J. Gorman Appointed to St. Mary's Raymond E. Brown Chair
October 11, 2011 — St. Mary's President Rector Rev. Thomas R. Hurst is pleased
to announce that Dr. Michael J. Gorman has been appointed to the Raymond E. Brown
Chair in Biblical Studies and Theology, which has been established at St. Mary's
Seminary and University by the U.S. Province of the Society of St. Sulpice.
The Society of St. Sulpice endowed this new chair to recognize Fr. Brown's
outstanding contributions to New Testament studies, to seminary formation,
and to ecumenism and interfaith relations. The appointment is effective July 1, 2012.
Over the last twenty years Dr. Gorman has contributed to the life of both the
Ecumenical Institute and the School of Theology by his outstanding teaching,
careful administration, and distinguished scholarship.
More information.